1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printer apparatus for forming and outputting an image upon accepting a print data file or the like created and edited by, e.g., a host computer. The invention relates further to a method of controlling this apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printer apparatus according to the prior art, print data sent to the printer apparatus from a host computer are stored temporarily on a hard disk or the like and the accumulated data are then printed out at a subsequent time.
In a case where, say, a first user executes 10 pages of printing first and then a second user executes a single page of printing, the conventional method of control is such that the printout for the second user is the 11th page. This means that in order to print out one page, the second user must wait for an amount of time needed to print out 11 pages. The more the first user increases the number of pages to be printed, the longer the second user must wait.
Thus, printing is performed in accordance with a simple first-in, first-out scheme. If a printing job including a large quantity of data is being processed by the printer, the processing of printing jobs that are to follow is delayed and the processing efficiency of the overall system may decline.